The study Putting
a Canadian Face on Learning Disabilities (PACFOLD) also involved hosting
a series of focus groups in different Canadian cities to hear directly
from people who know firsthand what it means to have learning disabilities
in Canada today. The comments from the focus
groups are only available in English. We apologies for the inconvenience.

Twelve focus groups in total were conducted consisting of adults
with LD, parents of children with LD and children with LD between
the ages of 10-14.

These were held in Halifax, Saskatoon, Ottawa,
Toronto and Winnipeg between March and December 2005, and helped
to fill in some of the blanks left by the data. Each focus group
session lasted one and a half hours, and was tape-recorded. Participants
were provided with an honorarium of $30.00, and were asked to sign
a release granting permission to be quoted anonymously, to provide
a personal voice to the statistics. The Saskatoon adult group consisted
mainly of aboriginals, and the Ottawa adult group consisted of
LD individuals employed in professional occupations.

Rich anecdotal information was provided in the
areas of diagnosis, experiences in school, impact on the family, financial
implications, experiences at work, etc.